## *The Makai*

*The Makai know themselves, they know where they came from and what their purpose is, It's just a Shame they don't want to tell anyone else what that is.* John Southland, Guild Archivist.

*Ahh the Makai, our erstwhile commanders and leaders. Atleast that the impression they try to give off when you speak with them for the first time, frankly it's better and much simpler to understand them once you get too know one of them. They like to put on Airs and show that they are knowledgeable, but truthfully they are the same as anyone else. You show them you can be trusted and they show you their weakness, you show them your strengths and they will show you how to better use them and perhaps in ways you could never have considered.* Shahash Colony, Orc General.

### Basic Information

## Anatomy

The Makai are Humanoid and in some cases can be mistaken for Human in many ways, however they always have one or two traits that make them stand apart from Humans. Some have Horns and Scales, some have Feathers and Claws, they stand apart from the rest of the People in their Kingdom by fitting in and fighting alongside their adopted Peoples.   Their Skin colour ranges from Tanned, too a deep dark Brown, some have other skin tones from Gray to Crimson. This can vary depending on their origin, as City Makai tend to have slightly lighter skin tones then Nomad Makai. Neither Gender is inherently taller or shorter then the other and can be just as strong, fast or heavy as each other.

**Genetics and Reproduction**

The Makai are capable of interbreeding with any species of Humanoid, barring rare examples of creatures that do not gestate their own young internally, specifically they can breed with any known intelligent Race on Foundation.

**Growth Rate & Stages**

They grow and age at the Same rate as the average Human, but they tend to be more capable at the extremes of Age. They are also more likely to live slightly longer then the average Human.   In their youth they tend to display no unnatural or unusual signs and look almost perfectly Human, albeit a Tanned Human. When they get to their Teenage years they first start to show signs of their Nature, small horns starting to nudge though the skin, Scales forming on their forearms Etc.

**Dietary Needs and Habits**

Omnivores, they can eat just about any organic matter if they so wish and gain sustenance from them. They do not enjoy the flavours of a lot of things that are commonly inedible to most Races.

**Geographic Origin and Distribution**

Largely nomadic, The Makai have spread out into the world and built on a air of mystery that they like to use for themselves. That said a Large portion of several of their tribes have gathered together To help the "Monsters" of the world gather together and form a Kingdom of their own.

**Average Intelligence**

The Makai love to put on airs and show themselves to be smarter then anyone else but that simply isn't true, they are as smart as the average Human, and can fit into the same ranges of Intelligence as them too.

**Perception and Sensory Capabilities**

They have all of the standard Human senses, Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch and Taste. They have a highly developed sense for Magic, linked to one of their other senses. For some they can Taste it on the Air, for others this is a pressure on the Skin, a Scent of something tingly.

## Civilization and Culture

**Naming Traditions**

Varies based on their Origin, City Makai use a Ideal, Family name then Personal Name combination. For example "Seeker Nocturne Valis" Would be a "Seeker" from the "Nocturne Family" called "Valis", Amongst their friends they may just let things go with their personal name but among Family and other Makai they do not know they will insist on Ideal and Family names being used first and Personal names only if they share the ideal Name with another Family member.  
Nomad Makai have a much less formal naming structure and usually have use a personal name and a Granted name. The Clan Elder gives them their Granted name and chooses it based on their Deeds prior to them reaching Adulthood.   One thing that both groups of Makai share is their chosen name. They pick this and change it as and when they Wish, but usually they chose something that they identify with and prefer to be know as, be it Male, Female or Other.

**Major Organizations**

The Makai are separated into two major groups, The City Makai and the Nomad Makai.   The City Makai are those that have chosen to dissolve their Clans and take up residence in the Capital City of the Makai Kingdom, Maolholme. From there they have spread out into the edges of the Kingdom and set themselves up in positions of support and power if they are better suited then other candidates, helping to found new towns and building up Travel Lodges, Inns and other social areas for communities.   The Nomad Makai are closer to the Makai's original form of governance, having a chief, a spiritual leader and a wiseman/women. If the Clan is expected to go into warfare soon they may set aside this trinity and allow a War-leader to step forward for the defense and offense of the Clan. They sometimes patrol a specific area of the continent as their "Territory" but they share it with the other peoples of the land. It is Rare for a Clan of Makai to be only of one "Type" of Makai.

**Beauty Ideals**

To Makai beauty is in the actions one takes, and not in someones appearance.   Although they can have the same standards of appearance as Humans, they hold the ideals of a person in much higher regard then the appearance of someone. It is just as common for a Makai to find a Kobold beautiful as it is for them to find Humans or Elves beautiful.
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**Gender Ideals**

The Makai do not seperate Gender into any roles or expectations. Males and Females of the Species are treated the same and have the same expectations upon them as anyone else (Self Sufficiency is one Ideal the Race holds in high regard) neither gender is told they are weaker then the other.   The Makai also do not distinguish Physical Gender and Societal Gender. Anyone can be anything they wish to be and they hold no cares about "Looking your Gender" Males can wear dresses, Females can wear trousers without social Stigma, they simply do not find how one Looks to be indicative of how one Acts.

**History**

The Makai have no Originating God, they just seemed to appear in the deserts and mountainous regions of Foundation and started to explore the world. They were lost but capable, open with the other races, but didn't like to share much about themselves, if they needed to fight they did so with strength that seemed unnatural and with powers that many other races hadn't began to master.   They never sought to make any lasting enmities or enemies of those they came across and kept themselves open to others.   When The Human Crusade began, the Makai hid themselves away and tried to avoid fighting the newcomers as the Humans would go out of their way to dispose of every last Makai they could find.

**Interspecies Relations and Assumptions**

The Makai try to be friendly and open with most Races, but keep their past and origins a secret, sometimes they share stories about the past but they will never share everything about themselves. They do this not to be mysterious for it's own sake but more to embrace the idea that the Past is not all there is about them.   The Human Church despises them and treats them as Devils to be destroyed. They are everything wrong with the world and need to be exterminated.

### Makai
**Ability Score Increase** +1 to any three abilty scores, each must be unique.

**Size** Medium

**Speed** 30ft

**Magical Senses:** Can cast Detect Magic at will. This always acts or encompasses some form of other sense, like Taste, Smell or Touch.

**Languages** Can speak and write Makanese and Common, tend to mix with other races alot and pick up languages easily, may learn two additional languages.

**Innate Spellcasting** Gain access to one of the following cantrips that you may use normally, You cast at half your actual level if you are a non-casting class, otherwise it becomes a extra cantrip on your class spell list. Your spellcasting ability is your choice of Charisma, Wisdom or Intelligence.

Acid Splash, Friends, Mage Hand, Mending, Sacred Flame, Druidcraft, Sword Burst, Lightning Lure.

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# The Secret

Makai are Humans, they come from the same stock, the same origin point and the same god. They were made as his children but given a choice as he realised in his grief that creating a race just to get revenge on others was exactly the type of thing a God would do in their anger. He asked the current generation of Humans if they wished to stay or if they wished to go, did they wish to join him in his revenge against the Cabal for the death of his beloved Wife? Or do they forgive the ones they had never meet and seek peace?

The Makai were the half that choose to leave and learn, they had only been told what the world was like, who the Cabal were and what had happened before, it didn't actually effect them and so they could not morally take revenge for something that did not harm them. They were warned and let go, at which point they saught to explore the world and learn everything they could about the world, the Cabal and the Peoples.

Roughly two hundred years passed before the Makai and Humans meet again, and the Makai had changed Skin darkening, recessive traits that had been removed or weakened growing to prominence and being embraced. Their culture had developed to accept anyone for who they are, not just for what they perceived to be the best traits. The Humans saw them as themselves, but weaker, less mature and less pure. They saw them as monsters to be killed, Devils to be purged.

The Makai (who previously had only been calling themselves the "People", but took the moniker the humans had given them just to irk them more) snuck away into the deserts away from them and warned as many other races as they could about the Humans, noting that they were ready for war and seemed intent on fighting. They disappeared deeper into the desert of Foundation and gathered. They knew they couldn't survive alone, but also knew that approaching all the races together too early into this war would cause distrust considering their similarity to the Humans.

It took the Humans no longer then 13 years to remove the Cabal from Foundation and a little over 25 years to say they had wiped them all out. Aetherius as the Human God was now known disappeared from public sight and left the Humans with only one goal Live. The Makai saw this as their time to shine and return, gathering the Races that had been hurt and giving them a goal as well, to prove the Humans Wrong. To prove their Church wrong and to show that anyone can be a civilized race if they just try hard enough.